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| County - Lincoln | Incorporated - 1967 | Lincoln County History |
| Elevation - 45' | Population - 695 | Map of Yachats, OR US |
| Source - Oregon Blue Book | Yachats Directory | |
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Yachats , pronounced YAH-hots, is derived from the Chinook Indian word,
Yahuts, meaning dark water at the foot of the mountain. Nestled between
the pristine mountains of the Coast Range and
the Pacific surf, the charming little village of Yachats is the ideal place for rest, relaxation and renewal,
discovery and romance.
The quiet, unhurried atmosphere of this tiny ocean front resort village
offers vacationers a peaceful retreat from city life.
The beaches of the Yachats area are promising for agate and
fossil hunting, birding, hiking and strolling, fishing, clamming, kite
flying or picnicking. Its basalt headlands meet some of the most dramatic
surf action in the world, attracting photographers and storm watchers,
especially during the spectacular winter storms that arrive in December,
January, and February. Immediately south of town is Cape Perpetua Scenic Area.The scenic area include Devil's Churn, Cook's Chasm, Spouting Horn, and Cape Perpetua Overlook, the highest point on the Oregon Coast. A short walk from the Overlook parking lot to the West Shelter viewpoint rewards the visitor with an unsurpassed panoramic ocean view. Built in the 1930s by stone masons of the CCC, the West Shelter viewpoint today provides an ideal location for whale watching. The U.S. Forest Service maintains the Cape's 26 miles of hiking trails through coastal mature and old growth rain forest, to breathtaking vistas, tide pools and the beach. The viewpoints and trails are open to the public year round. Some of the trails are wheelchair accessible, one is suitable for mountain biking, and all provide opportunities for birding. The Forest Service at Cape Perpetua also offers guided walks and operates a Visitors Center with natural and cultural history exhibits, an interactive children's corner, and a theater with nature films. Heceta Head Lighthouse signals to seafarers from atop a magnificent promontory just 14 miles south of Yachats. This working lighthouse, circa 1894, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world. It is open for public tours Memorial Day through Labor Day and again in December when the beautiful Keepers' House is decorated for its annual Victorian Holiday Open House. Travel south an additional mile to visit Sea Lion Caves, home to hundreds of wild Stellar sea lions and the world's largest sea cave. In Yachats you will find the historic Little Log Church Museum at the corner of W 3rd and Pontiac streets. Built by community volunteers with local timber hauled down the Yachats River, The Little Log Church was completed and dedicated in 1930. The church and property was sold to the Oregon Historical Society in 1969 when the congregation out grew this site. It became a museum in 1970 and was deeded to the city in 1986. The Little Log Church Museum houses settler exhibits, an extensive shell collection, and works of local artists and authors. It is staffed by volunteers and open to visitors daily except Thursday. The charming building is also available for rent to private parties for weddings and receptions. For information, please see our Group Facilities page. Take a walk along the historic Yachats 804 Trail. This ocean front trail begins at Smelt Sands State Wayside and winds north 3/4 mile where it meets a 7-mile stretch of sandy beach. Along this wheelchair accessible trail, you find Sitka Spruce and Shore Pine forest, ocean front meadows, riparian and wetland areas, and a small pebble beach. There are benches and picnic tables. The trail has recently been extended one mile southward along the village coastline to the Yachats River. On the 804 Trail (South) is Yachats State Recreation Area, located at the west end of 2nd Street. This park offers an excellent view of the Cape, the big mouth of the little Yachats River, and the beautiful Yachats bay. The Yachats 804 Trail is part of former County Road 804, the route used for travel between Yachats and Waldport's Alsea Bay before Hwy 101 was built in the 1930s. Today this footpath provides great places for whale watching, tidepooling, birding and hiking and is part of the Oregon Coast Trail system. History March 7 1787 Captain Cook named Cape Perpetua. Sea going ships passed by the Oregon coast as early as 1543 when Barteleme Ferrelo came this way. Sir Frances Drake (in 1575) and Martin de Aguilar (in 1605) also are known to have passed by. But Captain Cook was the first white man to really get credit for being in the Yachats area, although he was not able to land due to the rocky shore. Some say he named the 800 foot high cape after a saint whose birthday fell on that date, while others think that it was because a storm and high winds kept them in the area for several days, with that particular headland in sight the whole time, perpetually. On August 11, 1855 The first "establishment" in Yachats was an Indian Sub-Agency, an unratified treaty created the Coast Range Reservation, and the Alsea Sub-Agency was established at Yachats. This was home to natives from many different tribes and bands from throughout Oregon and Northern California. Board houses, cattle sheds, a blacksmith shop, storage buildings for farm tools, and fields for crops all occupied the area at Agency Creek, near the present day Adobe Motel. Some of the Native Americans also made a trail up the Yachats River and cleared land for farming. 1871 The first white child was born in the Yachats Area. Ida Case Ingalls was born at the Sub-Agency in 1871. She was the daughter of Mr. Sam Case, the current Agent. Mr. Case served from 1870 to February 1872, then again from March 23, 1873 to June 7, 1873. He later moved to Newport and became very involved with the development of the town and education. One of the Newport elementary schools is named after him. In 1892 Oceanview, Benton County, Oregon Post Office was Established it was the first post office in Yachats (then called Oceanview) and was established near the old reservation, and Miss Jenneta Kindred was appointed the postmistress. In 1912 the Oceanview Post Office was moved to the Hosford residence, which was near the mouth of the Yachats River. Getting the mail to and from Yachats was never easy, and until the road was rocked in 1931 rains made it impossible for the mail to be carried by car. Vacationers started coming to the Yachats area in the early 1900’s. While some camped near the mouth of the river, others owned summer cabins. They came down the beach from Waldport, or came over the Yachats Mountain Road. In 1905 a chittum bark warehouse was converted to the Yachats Motel, and the tourist industry really began. In 1920 the first cabins were built and others followed. Today the tourist industry is the main business, and most of the City’s revenue comes from the bed tax. Although there were Native American trails interlaced throughout the cape, and a crude trail cut by the early homesteaders for carrying the mail to and from Florence, the Yachats area was very isolated. Then in 1914 the U. S. Forest Service blasted a narrow road around Cape Perpetua and a wooden bridge was built across the Yachats River, making travel between the Yachats area and Florence easier. The wooden bridge was replaced in 1926 with a steel structure built by Montag and Sons, at a cost of $23,034. Oceanview renamed Yachats – (YAH-HOTS) It was decided that since there were already too many towns on the coast named "Oceanview" the name should be changed. On February 18, 1917 the name Oceanview was replaced, and the Yachats postmark was established. Other spellings and pronunciations for Yachats have included Youitts (Lewis and Clark Expedition); Youitz (Samuel Drake’s Book of Indians of North America); Yawhick, Yahuck, and Yahauts (from various Indian Affairs reports); and Yahuts, Yahatc, Yahats, Yahach, and Yaqa’ yik (from various history books). The current spelling and pronunciation is presumed to come from the German settlers. According to the native language, the YA means water. The rest of the word has been interpreted as "Dark water at the foot of the mountain", "Dark water between timbered hills", or "Little river with big mouth". Soldiers of the Signal Corps were organized as the Spruce Division on June 15, 1918 and they came to Lincoln County to log for the spruce needed for airplanes. The soldiers, who were mostly from the central and eastern part of the United States, knew very little about logging, but it didn’t take them long to learn. They lived in eight-man walled tents, with larger tents for the mess hall and kitchen. A railroad was constructed from South Beach to Camp 1 to transport the logs. The logs were then transferred by boat to the north side, and on to the mill in Toledo. The railroad was completed just three days before the Armistice, and the mill in Toledo was only 70% finished when the war ended, but the spruce logging continued for many years. With the railroad no longer needed for the war effort, it was auctioned off to a company known as the Pacific Spruce Corporation. The corporation maintained the settlement at Camp 1, and provided work for a lot of the locals. A Ford truck was equipped with rail wheels so it could run on the railroad, providing transportation and hauling services for the local residents. When R. J. and Mrs. Phelps came to Yachats in 1926 through the Evangelical United Brethren Church Missions, he organized the construction of the first real church in the area. The church, built in the shape of a cross, was a community effort. Sir Robert Perks, who owned most of Yachats at the time, donated the property. Local people cut and hauled the shakes, and the logs were donated. The pews, windowpanes, and Bible came from a church in Philomath. They were hauled over the Alsea road and down the beach to Yachats. In 1969, when the congregation out-grew the church it became the property of the Lincoln County Historical Society. It was later given to the City of Yachats, and is now maintained as the Little Log Church and Museum. The church is a popular place for weddings, while the museum houses displays of historical interest and showings of local art. 1930’s The Roosevelt Memorial Highway opens Yachats and the surrounding area to the world. In the early 1930’s the section of the Roosevelt Memorial Highway around Cape Perpetua was completed. This highway is now known as Hwy 101. Construction around Cape Perpetua was difficult and dangerous; and, the equipment used was small and primitive compared to what road builders have today. In 1930 the State Highway Department, looking for rock suitable for crushing, hired a local contractor to drill a test hole in the center of Cape Perpetua. The stone was considered unsuitable, but the large hole remained until the State had it closed up as protection against sabotage during the war. This hole, which was used for shelter by "Knights of the Road" for years, came to be known as "Cape Perpetua Cave" and rumors told of buried pirate’s treasure. 1930’s Cape Perpetua, and the Yachats area, became home to the CCC’s. As part of an effort to give American men jobs during the depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps was established. A camp was built near the site of the current Cape Perpetua Visitor’s Center and the men living there worked on many different projects throughout the area. Rockwork was one of the main skills they concentrated on; and, the rock walls around the cape, as well as the shelter built at the top of the cape were projects completed by the residents of the camp. During the early days of World War II the shelter built by the CCC’s at the top of Cape Perpetua was used as an observation site and radar station. A large gun was installed, and personnel looking for submarines and aircraft manned it. Foxholes and gun emplacements along the ocean drive on the hill really brought the war close to home for the locals. Military personnel outnumbered the civilians, and it was rumored the government had spent a million dollars in Yachats installations. The military personnel were housed in the skating rink on West Fourth and the Ladies Club was rented for recreation. U.S. Navy blimps from the Tillamook Air Base patrolled the coast as well, looking for Japanese submarines. After the war quite a few Japanese mines floated upon the beaches. The Coast pulled them out to sea and blew them up. |
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Yachats Chamber of Commerce |
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